On the day that the UN declared famine in Gaza, the imam of Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Islam's third-holiest site, put a spiritual spin on the predicament of Palestinians by saying the hungry can only beseech God to relieve them.
Delivering the main sermon to thousands of worshippers gathered at the mosque and the sprawling plaza surrounding it, Sheikh Mohammed Sarandah made no direct mention of Gaza or Israel.
Authorities in Israel closely monitor the Friday sermon at Al Aqsa and have in the past taken action against imams suspected of incitement against its government in their sermons, which are routinely broadcast live on Palestinian websites and radio stations.
“The hungry only pray to God to end their suffering and the hungry only scream 'relieve us', like the Khalifa Omar did,” said Sheikh Sarandah, alluding to Omar Ibn Al Khatab, a companion of the Prophet Mohammed who dealt with famine in Madinah during his 7th-century rule.
“The nation of Islam will not die even if it's afflicted with humiliation and hunger.”
It is the first famine in the Middle East, with experts warning more than half a million people are facing “catastrophic” hunger.
Senior UN officials put the blame squarely on Israel, accusing it of “systematic obstruction” of aid deliveries to Gaza. Israel's Foreign Ministry said the declaration was “based on Hamas lies laundered through organisations with vested interests”.
The Friday sermon at Al Aqsa has traditionally been a barometer of the mood of Palestinians in Jerusalem and across their territories. However, close scrutiny by Israel of the sermons had in the past led to imams being banned from entering the mosque for up to six months.
Known anti-Israel campaigners are often banned from entry. At other times, men younger than 40 are prohibited from entering. Furthermore, the Friday prayers are held under the watchful eye of Israeli police who beef up their presence inside the plaza and outside the complex for the weekly ceremony.
“It was a good sermon,” said Ahmed Abul Hawa, a bus driver from Jerusalem who participated in Friday prayers. “But I am not sure everyone understood who and what the imam was referring to.”
“The mutilation of facts, falsification of the situation and lies are the doctrine of the oppressors. Don't listen to their lies,” said Sheikh Sarandah, in a veiled reference to Israel's denial of famine in Gaza.
“The distortions made by the oppressors are designed only to cloud the facts so that the oppressors and oppressed are made to look equal and for everyone to see the aggressor as the victim.”
Friday's main sermon was preceded by a pair of religious lessons catering for worshippers who arrived early at Al Aqsa, which is near the Old City's Damascus Gate. Those lessons also made veiled references to starvation in Gaza.
“God, we place this country in your custody. God, please feed this nation to overcome hunger and quench the thirst of this nation,” said one cleric.
Braving a hot summer day, the worshippers thronged the narrow lanes of Jerusalem's Old City after the prayers, squeezing through tiny shops, with street hawkers selling a range of wares, including food, sweets, toys and fabrics.
“Pray on the Prophet Mohammed,” screamed one man outside a shop at the worshippers as he handed out cold water bottles free of charge.
